Standing at a mere five foot six inches, Jean-Francois Sauve didn't carry a physical presence during his hockey career, but he made up for it with scoring prowess.

Sauve led the league in points for two straight seasons while with the QMJHL's Trois- Rivieres Draveurs for 1978-79, registering 176 points in 72 games and 187 points in the same number of games in 1979-80. Despite his scoring touch, he went undrafted and signed as a free agent in 1979 with the Buffalo Sabres, the team that his older brother, netminder Bob Sauve, played for.

The 1980-81 season saw Sauve split time in Buffalo and their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. In 20 games in the NHL that season, he collected 14 points while playing in 56 games with the Americans and scoring 83 points. He split time with the Sabres and Americans over the next two seasons before being traded to the Quebec Nordiques in 1983.

Sauve split time once again in the NHL with the Nordiques and their AHL team, the Fredericton Express. His scoring touch returned and he had 50 points in 26 games. The 1985-86 season saw Sauve register NHL career highs in assists, with 40, and points, with 56.

The next season, Sauve moved to Switzerland where he played for several years before heading to France where he finished his playing career.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1976-77

Lac St-Louis Lions

QAAA

40

44

79

123

34

6

9

8

17

12

1977-78

Trois-Rivieres Draveurs

QMJHL

6

2

3

5

0

13

4

9

13

20

1977-78

Trois-Rivieres Draveurs

M-Cup

4

0

1

1

0

1978-79

Trois-Rivieres Draveurs

QMJHL

72

65

111

176

31

13

19

19

38

4

1978-79

Trois-Rivieres Draveurs

M-Cup

4

2

3

5

0

1979-80

Trois-Rivieres Draveurs

QMJHL

72

63

124

187

31

7

5

9

14

0

1979-80

Rochester Americans

AHL

3

1

1

2

0

4

1

2

3

2

1980-81

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

20

5

9

14

12

-2

5

2

0

2

0

1980-81

Rochester Americans

AHL

56

29

54

83

21

1981-82

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

69

19

36

55

46

+7

2

0

2

2

0

1981-82

Rochester Americans

AHL

7

5

8

13

4

1982-83

Buffalo Sabres

NHL

9

0

4

4

9

0

1982-83

Rochester Americans

AHL

73

30

69

99

10

16

7

21

28

2

1983-84

Quebec Nordiques

NHL

39

10

17

27

2

+4

9

2

5

7

2

1983-84

Fredericton Express

AHL

26

19

31

50

23

1984-85

Quebec Nordiques

NHL

64

13

29

42

21

+11

18

5

5

10

8

1985-86

Quebec Nordiques

NHL

75

16

40

56

20

-13

2

0

0

0

0

1986-87

Quebec Nordiques

NHL

14

2

3

5

4

-4

1986-87

HC Fribourg-Gotteron

Swiss

36

33

53

86

1987-88

HC Fribourg-Gotteron

Swiss

36

35

47

82

1988-89

HC Fribourg-Gotteron

Swiss

36

24

35

59

2

0

2

2

1988-89

Adirondack Red Wings

AHL

16

7

19

26

18

17

6

12

18

6

1989-90

ASG Tours

France

35

43

62

105

32

1990-91

ASG Tours

France

23

21

29

50

22

3

3

0

3

0

NHL Totals

290

65

138

203

114

36

9

12

21

10

Brother of Bob QMJHL Second All-Star Team (1979) QMJHL First All-Star Team (1980) AHL Second All-Star Team (1981)